Tribe, Stars have historic nights ahead

Historic.
That word gets thrown around too often in the world of sports.
But Saturday will be a historic night for the Fort Recovery Indians.
And Friday has a chance to be the same for the South Adams Starfires.
For FRHS, Saturday’s regional quarterfinal football game at Fort Loramie is more than two decades in the making.
Unlike the all-in system used in other sports in Ohio, teams must qualify for the football playoffs based on a computerized point system. It rates squads based on who they defeated, and on who those teams defeated.
But the details don’t matter. What does, is that playoff spots must be earned.
Since in the inception of football in Fort Recovery in 1992, the Indians had never seen week 11. Until now.
Fort Recovery has put together its best season in school history.
The Indians made a bit of a calculated gamble this season when they scheduled North Union and Jay County for their non-conference games. Both are larger schools than the Division VII Tribe — Divisions V and II respectively in Ohio terms — and North Union had made the playoffs every year since 2009.
But when FRHS won both games, the door was open for a dream season. And after dropping its first Midwest Athletic Conference game at Anna, the Tribe ran off three straight blowout wins over St. John’s (39-7), Parkway (42-8) and New Bremen (43-7).
A tough loss at Minster left the Indians’ playoff hopes in limbo, but a thrilling win at rival St. Henry — 31-26 on a 52-yard run by Cole Hull in the final minute — secured their spot in the tournament.
Hull has been the Tribe’s leader throughout, having broken the school’s single-season records for both rushing yards and touchdowns. But it’s been a true team effort, with the offensive line paving the way for Hull, Caleb Martin leading a dangerous aerial attack with Wes Wenning as his top receiver and the Schoen twins — Alex and Evan — powering a defense than ranks as the second-best in school history in terms of points allowed per game.
A home playoff game would have been a thrill, but the 25-mile drive to Fort Loramie for Saturday’s struggle will hardly dampen the enthusiasm.
For South Adams, the situation is different, but carries similar excitement.
Playing in Indiana, the Starfires are in the tournament every year. But over the course of the last five, they’ve made a habit of being at their best come playoff time.
With the exception of an 8-1 record in 2011, South Adams has hardly been a great regular-season team recently. Its pre-tournament record since 2010 is a mere 19-26, with just three wins this year.
But when the Starfires take the field Friday evening in Poneto, they will be playing for the sectional championship for the fourth time in five seasons. And, they will be doing so as the defending champion.
SAHS is formidable because of its multi-faceted attack. Four players have more than 350 yards rushing, with quarterback Derek Wanner at a team-best 788. Skylar Schoch is next with 598 followed by Drew LeFever (504) and Isaiah Amstutz (370).
And Wanner has the ability to put the ball in the air when necessary, having tossed for 923 yards this season.
In order to win another title and go back-to-back for just the second time in school history, the Starfires will need to avenge a 21-14, regular-season loss to Southern Wells. Given their recent playoff history, the Starfires will be up to the challenge.
A rematch is also looming for Fort Recovery if they win Saturday, with three-time defending state champion, top-seeded and top-ranked Marion Local Flyers likely to await in the regional semifinal. But the Tribe shouldn’t be worried about that.
The Fort Recovery football players should spend this week soaking it all in.
Take pride in the hard work that has gotten you this far. Remember all of the players and coaches who have gone before you, trying to achieve the goal you have now reached. Enjoy the playoff atmosphere.
And then play the game of your lives Saturday night in Shelby County. Having reached the goal of playing in week 11, there’s only one thing that can make this truly historic season even better — week 12.